The Trans-Siberian Railroad or, as people used to call it, The Great Siberian Way, runs through two continents connecting the European part of Russia and Moscow with Siberia and the Far East. Like a steel axis, our planet??™s longest railroad binds entire Russia, a country that spans through 10 time zones. Yet, the Trans-Siberian is not only the main transportation artery of the country, it has long since become a tourist magnet. Thousands of travelers from all over the world take the train to experience and, perchance, comprehend the seemingly boundless vastness of Russia.

This railroad was built unusually quickly: construction only took from 1891 to 1904. The rail runs across 21 of Russia??™s regions, crosses 16 great rivers, among them the Volga, Kama, Tobol, Irtysh, Ob, Yenisei, Selenga, Zeya, Bureya, Khor, and Ussuri. The longest bridge of the railway spans 2 kilometers (about 1.25 miles) over the river Amur in the Russian Far East. Also here, in the South of Khabarovsk region, is one of the most dangerous rivers crossed by the Trans-Siberian railroad ??” the river Khor. During the spring thaw, the river can rise up to 9 meters (almost 30 feet)! Also, for 207 kilometers (about 130 miles) the railway runs along the shore of the Lake Baikal, and for 39 kilometers (18 miles) it runs along the Amur Bay on the Sea of Japan. There are only 15 tunnels remaining along the railroad today, the longest of which is only 2 kilometers (1.25 miles) long. There used to be a lot more of these tunnels ??” several dozen, in fact, especially along the Lake Baikal. As time went by, however, newer, safer, and speedier passages were built, leaving most of the old tunnels behind as relics of former engineering achievements. One of these old tunnels is 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) long and goes under the Amur river. This tunnel was built as a strategic solution during the years 1937??“1942, but these days it??™s not used ??” the trains use the bridge across the river instead.

The Trans-Siberian Railroad also crosses the symbolic border between Europe and Asia near the city of Pervouralsk; there is a marker of this boundary on one of the lower slopes of the Ural mountains. There is an amusing tradition for the passengers who pass through this point: some train attendants distribute pillows with embroidered pillowcases. On one side is the word ???Europe,??? on the other ??” ???Asia.??? If you happen to cross to the other continent during the night, an attendant kindly helps you turn your pillow over.

The Trans-Siberian has its own coldest point. On the stretch between Mogocha and Skovorodino in the Amur Region temperature can drop to ??“62 ?°C (??“80 ?°F).The world??™s only train station built entirely of marble is among the many places of interest on the Trans-Siberian Railroad. It is located in a small Siberian town of Sliudianka, at the southernmost point of the Lake Baikal, and was built in 1904 in commemoration of the tremendous effort of the builders who finished the last and the most difficult stretch of the railroad ??” the segment around the Lake Baikal.

It is 9,288 km or 5,771 miles from Moscow to Vladivostok ??“ a one-week journey!Like a steel axis, the Trans-Siberian binds entire Russia, a country that spans through 10 time zonesTrans-Siberian has been powered by electricity for many years. Steam locomotives became relics of a bygone technological ageWorld??™s longest railroad ends by the Pacific Ocean ??” the marker for its last kilometeris at the Vladivostok Train Station